While it is true that some designers prefer to design only with their own personal preference of style, most designers, ours included, are more interested in designing in your style.  We genuinely want to deliver a product that you find pleasing, but everyone’s tastes are different.  The more that you can communicate and share, the…

We’ve tackled this subject matter previously, but it’s an important topic that warrants another look.  I was pleasantly surprised when a client told us that one of our competitors told her it was $x/sf to build a custom home.  This didn’t make sense to our client as they had no plans to look at, much…

Design with resale in mind.  I’ve heard it repeatedly and I must disagree.  There is an exception to my opinion, that being if you plan on selling soon (next 2-3 years).  Even then, I find it a bit presumptuous to assume you know what the next owner will like or assume they won’t like what…

Normally I write about something specific to my company, Custom Dwellings, or at least our industry.  Today, however, I want to address a much broader topic.  How much is too expensive?  I have covered pricing in some other posts, but this has less to do with construction or design and more about service in general. …

Early in the design process, we create an estimated line-item budget for the project.  We don’t share every little item in our budget (do you really need to know or care how much is budgeted for silt fence…do you even know what silt fence is?)  However, for items where the homeowner’s decisions can have a…

When dreaming of a new home build, it is common to search for existing home plans on the internet.  This is a great way to look for ideas, but does it make sense to pay for ready-made plans?  Like most things, it depends.  If you find a plan you love, and it fits your lot…

Among the first questions we ask a potential new client is if they’ve considered what budget they have for their project.  This can sometimes be an awkward conversation to have, but it is a critical conversation to have.  It is critical, before design begins, to know what you can afford.  We understand some (most) clients…

A cost-plus contract differs from a fixed price contract in that it takes the actual (not estimated) costs of the project and adds a fee for overhead and management.  When not doing fixed price contracts, we utilize a bit of a hybrid- a cost plus fixed fee contract.  In this scenario, we charge a fixed…

We offer two different contract formats at Custom Dwellings depending upon job size and customer preference.  Either one can be used successfully, and one is not better than the other.  We typically do larger projects on a cost-plus basis, because the cost-plus version is typically a better value for the client and in our opinion…